Traductions financières - à la rencontre des chiffres et des langues (en anglais)
18.05.2022
The myth that people are either good at languages or good at numbers has been around since time immemorial. It may even be true for some of us. But there is one group of people to whom it doesn’t apply: financial translators. Not only do they have strong linguistic skills, but they are also comfortable handling big numbers. This makes them perfectly suited to translating texts for the financial sector.
But what exactly are financial translations? Who needs them and what is special about them? Read on to find out more…
Financial translations and what makes them special
Like medical, legal or technical translations, financial translations cover a specific field. They therefore fall under the heading of ‘specialised translation’. Examples include:
- Financial statements
- Half-yearly or quarterly reports
- Tax documents
- White papers
- Bylaws
- User manuals for financial software/apps
- Stock exchange news
- Balance sheets
- Bank statements
All of these documents essentially revolve around numbers and financial figures and can be found in a wide range of industries, be it food, fashion or technology. Companies publish annual reports, for example, to give their partners and shareholders an overview of the past financial year. However, press releases, contracts or online texts can also fall under the category of ‘financial translation’ if they originate from banks, listed companies or auditing firms, for instance. This means the translator not only needs to be well-versed in finance, but also in law or marketing.
Which factors are important in the field of financial translation?
Although the types of text may differ, they all have one thing in common: they contain extremely sensitive and confidential information that must not be made public before a certain time. Confidentiality must therefore be a top priority for the language service provider.
Another important aspect is attention to detail. Little things like a wrong number in a tax document, a ‘+’ instead of a ‘-’, or an omission in a key investor information document can cause all kinds of problems and have dire consequences for clients, partners and, of course, the company itself.
Hard factors made interesting
Nevertheless, when translating these strategic documents, the focus should not be purely on ‘hard factors’ such as figures, data, etc. – it is just as important to ensure that the annual report, the press release or the investor information is easy to read and interesting.
Corporate language is another key consideration: every company has its own tone of voice, which must be reflected in all documents.
In order to meet all of these requirements, experienced translators master a tremendous balancing act of transforming complex facts and hard factors into a fluent, easy-to-read text that is both interesting and informative.
CB Multilingual – Swiss translation agency and expert for financial translations
From technical and linguistic expertise to the perfect technology for financial translations – CB Multilingual has all the tools to translate strategic documents into various target languages in a highly accurate way. Managing Director Silvia Cerrella Bauer has a successful track record in the field of financial translation: she set up the language service division of a renowned financial institution in Zurich, managed it for several years and handled the language requirements of Swiss corporate clients in the banking and financial sector as Business Unit Manager Financial Clients at an international language services company.
Perfection through teamwork
Our accomplished technical translators have years of experience in the translation and finance industries. They deal with the world of finance every day, which means they are always up to date with the latest developments and terminology and are able to translate any financial text to the highest standard.
As mentioned, financial translations are all about attention to detail. To ensure that a text is translated accurately down to the smallest detail and that no important content is missing, it is checked by a second specialised translator (‘four-eyes principle’) as part of the proofreading process.
Consistency is key
Every company wants their communications to be consistent across all channels – from brochures and marketing content, through to correspondence and financial reports. This is ensured with the help of two tools.
Financial glossary
Specialist terms and their correct translations are recorded in a financial glossary that is compiled together with the client. The glossary can also contain company-specific terms such as slogans, product names or services. In addition to ensuring consistency, this avoids misinterpretations by the translators.
Translation memory
The specialist texts found in the field of financial translation often contain a lot of repetition. This is especially true for tax returns, annual accounts and bank statements, for example, in which certain parts of the text remain unchanged. Once translated, these can be stored in the ‘translation memory’ technology and retrieved from the system when a new, identical translation is required. This not only speeds up the translation process, but also ensures that different translations of the same text are not published.
Financial translations you can bank on
When you entrust the translation of your financial texts to Zurich-based translation agency CB Multilingual, you can rest assured they will be treated confidentially and translated into your required languages with utmost attention to detail and the right linguistic tone. For more information, please contact us.